As the coach who witnessed Messi's rise in Barcelona, Guardiola is definitely very familiar with Messi. Like Messi, Guardiola also came from La Macia youth training camp . Before transferring to Brescia , he spent 13 seasons in Barcelona and achieved quite good results. In 2007, Guardiola returned to Barcelona as a youth coach and then officially coached Barcelona's first team the following year.
Messi and Guardiola
It is under Guardiola's training that Messi has gradually become one of the best players in the world. In Guardiola's era, Barcelona had won the La Liga championship three times, the Champions League championship twice, as well as the King's Cup championship, the European Super Cup championship, and the Spanish Super Cup championship, etc. During Guardiola's coaching Barcelona, Messi made his mark and won three of his five Golden Ball Awards.
Foreign media reports screenshot
Messi will turn 33 next year and has been suffering from injuries at the beginning of this season. At the same time, Messi has also repeatedly expressed his intention to leave Barcelona return to the Argentina parent team Newell Old Boys Club. Guardiola believes that Messi will not play in Barcelona for long. In an interview with Catalonia Radio, Guardiola said that Barcelona should play football and prepare and plan for Messi's retirement.
Guardiola: Messi can no longer run like before
Guardiola said: "One day Messi will retire, and Barcelona needs to deal with this problem. What needs to be prepared is a place to stand statues, a way of paying tribute like Cubara or John. I am sure they will find it." Guardiola said that it was his luck that he could coach the very talented Barcelona team at that time, but Messi was not the Messi before. If this Argentine was allowed to run like he did when he coached Barcelona, Messi would be injured every three months.
Peak Barcelona
Guardiola said: "There are many great coaches who have accomplished nothing because they don't have Messi. I'm lucky to have him, as well as Xavi, Iniesta, Dani Alves and Pique. What's more, at the age of their perfection... Now, you need to let Messi make a short effort. He can't run for running, can't. If Leo (Messi) runs like he did in his first season in my coaching, he will be injured every three months."
This article is written for Qingkai Sports and cannot be reproduced without permission.
